The invention relates generally to a passenger loading bridge, in particular an extensible loading bridge having three extensible sections extending from a terminal at ground level and for servicing aircraft of various sizes.
Passenger loading bridges have gained world-wide acceptance for the safety and convenience they afford passengers. Most major air terminals are provided with gates, gangways or passenger loading bridges, which extend from the second level of the terminal to a parked aircraft. Frequently, these bridges are relatively immobile since aircraft can park close to the terminal and be moved away by tugs or tractors.
Commonly, smaller air terminals are only ground level structures at which aircraft park a fixed distance from the terminal building. There frequently are no tugs available. This fixed distance is required to enable the aircraft to xe2x80x9cpower outxe2x80x9d or move away from the building under its own power without damaging the building with a jet or propeller blast, or a physical collision between the aircraft and the terminal. A loading bridge must be easily adjustable to the different distances during airport operation in order to service a number of different aircraft.
Commonly, passenger loading bridges extend from the second level of large terminals and have been directed to support standard size passenger and cargo aircraft. They have generally not been applicable for use with small air terminals for a number of reasons. For example, they do not provide the large extension/retraction required for supporting aircraft at small terminals. Large variation in the loading height of different common aircraft, also requires a loading bridge able to be adjusted over a wide range of heights. Currently available loading bridges cannot be lowered sufficiently to service smaller aircraft from ground level. It would be advantageous to provide a passenger loading bridge that is capable of mating with an airport terminal at ground level and with small as well as large aircraft.
Accordingly, passengers typically have had to walk from the terminal over airport tarmac and thence up a stairway in order to enter an aircraft at a small terminal. This exposes passengers to inclement weather and hazards such as propellers, cables, and fuelling hoses. It is not desirable to subject passengers to inclement weather or to potentially dangerous ramp conditions. Also, aircraft operations are significantly slowed by allowing passengers onto the tarmac. For safety reasons, aircraft and equipment remain stationary while passengers are on the tarmac. Security is a concern because passengers can board incorrect aircraft or tamper with other craft. In order to increase security, it is a common practice to board only one aircraft from the tarmac at any time. With passenger loading bridges in place, luggage is loaded, aircraft tests are executed, other aircraft are taxied, and so on while passengers board the aircraft. Other aircraft are capable of being boarded simultaneously when sufficient gates exist. It is therefore desirable to provide a passenger loading bridge for use at these smaller air terminals to enhance the safety and comfort of passengers.
When coupling available passenger loading bridges to large aircraft such as jumbo jets, a significant clearance exists between the aircraft entrance and various portions of a plane, which have to be accessed by service personnel such as doors for loading cargo, fuelling caps, ports for ventilation, electricity, etc. In smaller planes this clearance is reduced substantially. Here a gantry supporting the loading bridge located close to the aircraft interfacing end of the loading bridge is a serious safety hazard for service personnel and reduces the operating area around the plane considerably.
Therefore, it would be advantageous to provide a passenger loading bridge having the gantry a sufficiently large distance from the plane.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,161,049 issued to Saunders et al. on Jul. 17, 1979, a passenger loading bridge for a ground level terminal is disclosed. Saunders provides a fixed length walkway, which swings about a ground level rotunda. In order to accommodate small aircraft, a stairway from the rotunda to the walkway is provided. The stairway permits an end of the walkway proximate the terminal to be raised to or above the minimum height of the supports for raising and lowering the end of the walkway proximate an aircraft and therefore allows the walkway to mate with aircraft entrances that are disposed in line with the minimum support height. The use of stairs to access an aircraft is undesirable because of limited access for the physically disabled and other liabilities associated with stairs. Further, Saunders provides an extensible cab portion for aligning the door of the aircraft to the loading bridge. However, the length of the bridge is not adjustable. As a result all aircraft must be parked at the maximum distance from the terminal. No significant adjustment to the placement of the cab of the loading bridge is possible.
It is therefore an object of the invention to provide a highly adjustable passenger or cargo loading bridge that can be advantageously utilized with small airport terminals.
It is another object of the invention to provide a passenger or cargo loading bridge extending from a terminal at ground level and for servicing aircraft of various sizes.
It is yet another object of the invention to provide a passenger or cargo loading bridge where the gantry supporting the loading bridge is located a sufficiently large distance from a serviced plane.
In accordance with the present invention there is provided a passenger loading bridge for conducting passengers or cargo from an airport terminal to an aircraft entry door of an aircraft comprising:
a pivotal support for pivotal movement about a substantially vertical axis;
an extensible walkway connected to the pivotal support for communicating at one end with the airport terminal at ground level and having an aircraft engaging end at an opposite end, the walkway comprising:
a first section for communicating with the airport terminal; and,
a second section connected to the first section providing first telescopic movement for extending and retracting the aircraft engaging end; and,
a wheeled gantry having a support member disposed for supporting the second section for providing steerable movement of the second section and for lifting or lowering the aircraft facing end of the second section, wherein placement of the wheels of the wheeled gantry allows for lowering of the gantry support member to a height above ground being approximately equal or less than a gantry wheel diameter.
In accordance with an aspect of the present invention there is provided a wheeled gantry comprising:
a support beam for supporting a lift mechanism, the lift mechanism for adjusting a distance between the support beam and the bottom of the second section;
a steering mechanism mounted to the support beam for steering between the linear movement and the arcuate movement of the second section; and,
a wheel axle mounted to the steering mechanism, the wheel axle comprising two wheels rotationally mounted to either end of the wheel axle, for providing linear and arcuate movement to the second section, wherein the distance between the two wheels exceeds the length of the support beam.
In accordance with the aspect of the present invention there is further provided a wheeled gantry comprising:
a support beam for supporting a lift mechanism, the lift mechanism for adjusting a distance between the support beam and the bottom of the second section;
a steering mechanism mounted to the support beam for steering between the linear movement and the arcuate movement of the second section; and,
a frame structure mounted to the steering mechanism, the frame structure comprising two wheel axles, each wheel axle comprising two wheels rotationally mounted to either end of each wheel axle, for providing linear and arcuate movement to the second section, wherein the distance between the two wheels of each wheel axle exceeds the length of the support beam.
In accordance with an aspect of the present invention there is further provided another embodiment of a wheeled gantry comprising:
a support beam for supporting a lift mechanism, the lift mechanism for adjusting a distance between the support beam and the bottom of the second section, wherein the support beam forms a U-shape surrounding the bottom portion of the second section of the walkway and wherein the support beam comprises a cantilever mounted to either end;
a steering mechanism mounted to each cantilever for steering between the linear movement and the arcuate movement of the second section; and,
a wheel axle mounted to each steering mechanism, the wheel axle comprising at least a wheel rotationally mounted to the wheel axle, for providing linear and arcuate movement to the second section.
In accordance with the aspect of the present invention there is further provided yet another embodiment of a wheeled gantry comprising:
a support beam for supporting a lift mechanism, the lift mechanism for adjusting a distance between the support beam and the bottom of the second section, wherein the support beam forms a U-shape surrounding the top and the sides of the second section of the walkway and wherein the support beam comprises a cantilever mounted to either end;
a steering mechanism mounted to each cantilever for steering between the linear movement and the arcuate movement of the second section; and,
a wheel axle mounted to each steering mechanism, the wheel axle comprising at least a wheel rotationally mounted to the wheel axle, for providing linear and arcuate movement to the second section.
In accordance with the present invention there is further provided a passenger loading bridge for conducting passengers or cargo from an airport terminal to an aircraft entry door of an aircraft comprising:
an extensible walkway for communicating at a first end with the airport terminal at ground level and having an aircraft engaging end at an opposite end, the walkway comprising:
a first section including a pivotal support for pivotal movement about a substantially vertical axis proximate the first end and for communicating with the airport terminal; and,
a second section connected to the first section providing first telescopic movement for extending and retracting the aircraft engaging end;
a wheeled gantry mounted to the second section for providing steerable movement of the second section and for lifting or lowering the aircraft facing end of the second section, the wheeled gantry comprising:
a wheel axle comprising two wheels mounted to either end of the wheel axle, for providing driven movement to the second section;
a steering axle mounted to the wheel axle for steering between the linear movement and the arcuate movement of the second section;
a support beam mounted to the steering axle for supporting a lift mechanism, the lift mechanism for adjusting a distance between the support beam and the bottom of the second section, wherein the support beam is disposed between the two wheels at a height above ground less than the diameter of the two wheels; and,
a drive mechanism for driving the two wheels.
In accordance with the present invention there is yet further provided a passenger loading bridge for conducting passengers or cargo from an airport terminal to an aircraft entry door of an aircraft comprising:
an extensible walkway for communicating at a first end with the airport terminal at ground level and having an aircraft engaging end at an opposite end, the walkway comprising:
a first section including a pivotal support for pivotal movement about a substantially vertical axis proximate the first end and for communicating with the airport terminal; and,
a second section connected to the first section providing first telescopic movement for extending and retracting the aircraft engaging end;
a wheeled gantry mounted to the second section for providing steerable movement of the second section and for lifting or lowering the aircraft facing end of the second section, the wheeled gantry comprising:
a wheel axle comprising two wheels mounted to either end of the wheel axle, for providing driven movement to the second section, wherein the two wheels are spaced a distance greater than the width of the second section;
a steering axle mounted to the wheel axle for steering between the linear movement and the arcuate movement of the second section;
a support beam mounted to the steering axle for supporting a lift mechanism, the lift mechanism for adjusting a distance between the support beam and the bottom of the second section, wherein the support beam is disposed between the two wheels at a height above ground less than the diameter of the two wheels; and,
a drive mechanism for driving the two wheels.
In accordance with another aspect of the present invention there is provided a passenger loading bridge for conducting passengers or cargo from an airport terminal to an aircraft entry door of an aircraft comprising:
an extensible walkway for communicating at a first end with the airport terminal at ground level and having an aircraft engaging end at an opposite end, the walkway comprising:
a first section including a pivotal support for pivotal movement about a substantially vertical axis proximate the first end and for communicating with the airport terminal;
a second section connected to the first section providing first telescopic movement for extending and retracting the aircraft engaging end; and,
a third section connected to the second section providing second telescopic movement for extending and retracting the aircraft engaging end;
a wheeled gantry mounted to the third section for providing steerable movement of the third section and for lifting and lowering the aircraft facing end of the third section, the wheeled gantry comprising:
a support beam for supporting a lift mechanism, the lift mechanism for adjusting a distance between the support beam and the bottom of the third section;
a steering mechanism mounted to the support beam for steering between the linear movement and the arcuate movement of the third section;
a wheel axle mounted to the steering mechanism, the wheel axle comprising two wheels mounted proximate opposing ends of the wheel axle, for providing linear and arcuate movement to the third section, wherein the distance between the two wheels exceeds the length of the support beam, and wherein the diameter of the two wheels exceeds a height above ground of a bottom of the support beam; and,
a drive mechanism for driving the two wheels.